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Sunday, May 26, 2013

LOST SISTER-- MY FAVE WESTERN SHORT STORY--BY CHERYL PIERSON

I know we’ve talked before about Dorothy M. Johnson, the iconic western short story writer who penned such classics as The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Hanging Tree, and A Man Called Horse; but today, I wanted to tell you about another short story of hers that I read a few days ago. Quite possibly, the best short story –in any genre—that I’ve ever read.

You may never have heard of it. It wasn’t made into a movie, because it too closely mirrored the true life of a real person, Cynthia Ann Parker, mother of Quanah Parker. The story is called Lost Sister.

I’d heard this story mentioned before by a couple of friends, and thought, “I need to read that—I’ve never read much of Mrs. Johnson’s work but the movies have all been good.” I know. I hate it when people say that, too. Anyhow, I bought a collection from Amazon that contained the three stories I mentioned in the first paragraph and Lost Sister as the fourth. Of course, I had to read The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, since that’s tied for my all-time favorite western movie, along with Shane. I was so disappointed. The characters in the short story were not the same as my beloved Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne! Hmmm. Well, even though I was disappointed, I decided to give Lost Sister a shot.

It more than made up for my lukewarm feelings for The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.

Lost Sister is the story of a woman who has been kidnapped as a young child by “the hostiles”. She has an older sister, who remembers her well from childhood, and loves her with the devotion that most older sisters have for a younger sister. Through the forty years she has been gone, the oldest sister, Mary, has cherished memories of her younger sibling.

There are three younger sisters, as well, who have no recollection of the Lost Sister, Bessie. The older sister doesn’t live with them, but in a different town a thousand miles away. The three sisters are notified that their sister, Bessie, has been “rescued” and is being brought back to them. The story is told from the eyes of a nine-year-old boy, whose mother lives with the sisters. She is the widow of their brother, who was killed by the Indians. The boy has dreams of growing up and avenging his father’s death, but something changes once his Aunt Bessie comes back to live with them.

Up until Bessie is returned to them, they have gotten much attention from the neighbors, and have been pitied as being the family who had a sister stolen by the savages so many years ago. Once Bessie is returned, their standing in the community takes a subtle twist. The other sisters don’t know how to handle Bessie’s homecoming. They make plans to go into her room and “visit” with her every day. One of them decides to read to Bessie from the Bible for thirty minutes each day. The others come up with similar plans, none of which include trying to understand Bessie’s feelings at being ripped away from her Indian family.

The oldest sister, Mary, comes to visit. What’s different? Mary loves Bessie, and accepts her; and Bessie loves her—they both remember their childhood time together. The language of love overcomes the barriers of the spoken language that neither of them can understand, for Bessie has forgotten English, and Mary doesn’t know Bessie’s Indian dialect. But Bessie has a picture of her son, and Mary admires it, and by the time Mary is to go home, she has made arrangements for Bessie to come live with her—a huge relief to the other pious sisters who had made such sympathetic noises about her being reunited with them in the beginning.

In a fateful twist, Bessie makes her own decision about what she will do, taking her own life back, and helping her son avoid capture. This is one story you will not forget. Once you read it, it will stay with you and you’ll find yourself thinking about it again and again. It doesn’t fit the mold of a romance story, except for the fact that I think of Bessie being in love with her husband, having children with him, and then being “rescued” and forced to live in a society she had no ties with any longer…except one—the love and understanding of her older sister, Mary.

No specific Indian tribe is mentioned in the story, probably for a purpose. I think, one of the main reasons is to show us the cultural differences and how, in this case, the “civilized” world that Bessie had come from and been returned to was not as civilized as the “savages” who had kidnapped her. Also, as I say, Cynthia Ann Parker’s story, at the time this story was published, was not that old. There were still raw feelings and rough relations between whites and Indians. But by leaving the particular tribe out of the story, it provides a broader base for humanity to examine the motives for “rescue” and the outcome for all concerned, of a situation such as this in which it would have been better to have let Bessie (Cynthia Ann) remain “lost.”

Kirsten, Cynthia Ann Parker was just a tragic figure. She is buried here in Oklahoma at the Ft. Sill Army Base near Lawton, along with her son, the last of the great Comanche chiefs, Quanah Parker, and her daughter in the base cemetery. Lost Sister is one of those stories that just stays with you. I'm glad you're going to read it. I posted the link so you can read it as it was first printed, but it isn't very good quality--the font is small and lots of advertisements, etc.Cheryl

Frank, I would love to have met her. Lucky you! She was a wonderful writer, as you say, in any genre. Although I didn't care for The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, that's not to say it wasn't a good story writing-wise. I just prefer the film version in this case (and that's rare for me.)She has such a fantastic body of work. I'm looking forward to reading and re-reading all of her stories.Cheryl

Thanks, Cheryl, for the detailed account of the story. I don't feel like I have to drop everything and go read it. I'll get to it eventually with the other Dorothy Johnson stories I've been intending to read.

I'll differ with you on "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," which I may have read before I saw the movie. The short story has an integrity of its own. I like the movie, but my beef is that Wayne and Stewart were too old for the parts of the much younger men Johnson wrote of.

Thanks for including the link. I am late in coming to read Johnsons work, but better late than never. I can thank this group for the reinforcement of my desire to include her work in my TBR pile. Doris

Hi Ron,I do agree with you--TMWSLV would probably have not been so jarring to me had I not lived with that movie from a young age. The movie just struck such a chord with me, before I ever even knew there was a short story, that I have to be fair and say that in this case, probably no matter how good the short story was, I wouldn't have liked it as well as the movie. It's hard for me to think of John Wayne as a young man in anything other than Stagecoach. LOL Thanks for your comment, and I know you will enjoy Lost Sister when you do get to read it.Cheryl

I'm so glad you stopped by today--I know everyone is busy with their holiday plans. I'll tell you, my tbr pile has grown by leaps and bounds with the posts on our blog. LOL So many books, so little time!Cheryl

I'm not much of a short story reader, but since you pointed me in the direction of St. Agnes' Stand, that has to be my favorite."Taaake me with youuuuuu!"The vision is still in my head.

My Friend Linda Swift writes great short stories, all quirky, not as all like her. But she said she wrote those is one of her "black" periods. So each one is offbeat, and each has a strange or unexpected ending. I wouldn't read one of them, because she could be so graphic with something bad, and I couldn't picture what would happen. I told her that--I'm not reading that because I know what'll happen.But I read all the others.She laughs at me.Five of those are in one book titled Take Five. And I helped select the cover--which I think is a real winner.

Hi Celia,Short stories used to be my favorite unit in English class. I always love to try to figure out the questions they always asked about symbolism, foreshadowing, etc. As I got older, I gravitated more toward novels, and now I love both.

I don't think of St. Agnes' Stand as a true short story because the version I have is longer than a novella, but it was such a fast read! Oh, yes, I love that story. That's probably tied with Shane as my all time favorite western.

I will have to get Linda's book. I love off-beat stories. Thanks for telling us about it! And thanks so much for stopping by on this holiday weekend.Cheryl

I love short stories. I llike that they say so much with so few words. They can be so powerful.I remember the series on TV about the Lakotas and the introduction of Europeans into the west. After a bout with cholera, one group from the wagon strain left and were attacked by Indians. The sister on one of the main charactters was taken and eventually married an Indian and raised a family. She never returned to her white family since she had found happiness at last.I really enjoyed your article.

I was mesmerized by your post. The story has a poignant, melancholy quality that makes me root for the Lost Sister and Cynthia Ann Parker. Love comes in all colors and in all places.

As an aside, one of my high school English teachers was named Ann Parker. Though she presented a refined appearance, she could scalp you with a look. You know the one I mean, that over the glasses have-you-lost-your-mind kind of look...

Cheryl, loved your post. Since we live in the Southwest, I tend to forget that not everyone has heard of Cynthia Ann Parker. Her story is important here, and I've always believed her story so sad. Her son Quanah was a great chief. Thanks for a great post.

Sarah, I agree. Hills Like White Elephants by Hemingway was one of those--though I read it too early to understand all the subtext and nuances (I think I was 18 when I read it) but went back to it years later when I could appreciate it. But there are many, many more, of course. I love short stories, too. Cynthia Ann had so much heartbreak in her life. I am sure she wanted nothing more than to just be left in peace. Thanks for coming by today!Cheryl

Maggie, You're so right! Love does come from places that others (like the sisters) might never suspect. And the one common ground thing she and Mary had were their children. It is just such a touching story.That's funny about your teacher.

You know, I was born and raised here and never was taught about Cynthia Ann Parker until high school! I had a history teacher who loved oddities and would mention them almost as an "aside"--hoping, I think, that we'd get curious enough to want to know more. What a sad life she had. And her children were probably her pride and joy.Cheryl

Wow, Cheryl, a very moving story, one I'll have to read. I grew up knowing about Cynthia Ann. I don't know why exactly. Fort Parker is not far from us and we went their to camp, but as an adult, reading her story twisted my emotions about the entire situation. She should have been left with the Indians, or as some military individuals say, been shot. It would have been more humane than bringing her back to such unhappiness.

Jacquie, I feel the same way. One can only wonder about the thoughts and feelings she must have had, being so scared in the beginning and then becoming one of them so completely that coming back to the white world held no allure for her at all. Such a fascinating story. Thanks so much for coming by!Cheryl

Linda, yes, I agree--she should have just been left with the Comanche. But of course, back then, that was considered to be a fate worse than death, and they felt she HAD to be rescued. Such a sad story. Thanks so much for your kind words, and for coming by!Cheryl